Buses converted to campervans

If you check out the Youtube videos you'll find it has a Perkins 6 354 in it, has done four trips around the big block (plus the Tanami), and is reputedly good for 100 kph at 13 mpg . . .

Somewhat faster than me old Bedford! :dry:

If'n I was younger and as eager as I used to be I'd give it a go :blink:

Second video mentions a rebuilt Turner 5 speed box. Poor old thing needs some love.

Recently spotted in Melbourne.

sort of looks like an overgrown Kombi van/ute thingy

Roderick
Senior bikie charged after a drug lab discovered in a disused bus 15 March 2018.
The national sergeant-at-arms of the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang has been charged after police raids uncovered more than 85kg of drugs, hydrogen chloride gas cylinders and a clandestine drug lab in a disused bus.
Martin Klein, 35, was arrested by Strike Force Creswell investigators early on Wednesday evening after he attended a storage cage in residential car park in Kellyville Ridge that was the subject of a police search warrant.
Video: Senior bikie charged with drug and gun offences.
One of the most senior members of the Finks outlaw motorcycle gang has been charged after police raids uncovered drugs and firearms.
The raids, which stretched from Sydney's inner west to Tarago, just outside of Goulburn, uncovered 17.4kg of methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) pills, 1.7kg of powder, believed to be cocaine; and more than 67kg of powders, believed to be MDA, illicit drugs, and assorted precursors.
By Thursday afternoon, search warrants had been executed at the storage cage, a unit in the same complex, a home in Beaumont Hills, a local business in Drummoyne and a property outside of Tarago, where a clandestine laboratory was located in a disused bus.
Police also seized two firearms, a silencer, and ammunition, as well as a .38 colt six-shot revolver, encrypted mobile phones, a hydrogen chloride gas cylinder, and various documentation.
Klein, one of the most senior members of the Finks bikie gang, was refused bail at Bankstown Local Court on Thursday, charged with large commerical drug supply and 15 firearms offences.
The raids followed an ongoing investigation into the importation, manufacture and supply of prohibited drugs, and included police from the Criminal Groups Squad’s Strike Force Raptor and the Drug and Firearms Squad’s Chemical Operations Unit.
A clandestine drug lab located on a property at Tarago, near Goulburn. Photo: NSW Police.
Detective Superintendent Deb Wallace, commander of the Criminal Groups Squad, said the powder seized from the properties was enough to produce "conservatively, 200,000 individual pills, at an estimated street value of $4 million."
This was in addition to the 17kg of already pressed pills seized by investigators.
Ms Wallace said the raids were "simultaneous" to another investigation addressing a dispute between the Finks and rival gang, the Nomads.
The 35-year-old was arrested at a storage cage in a car park in Kellyville Ridge Photo: NSW Police.
"In managing the conflict between these outlaw motorcycle gangs and other criminal groups is we go straight to the cause of these conflicts, which is usually turf, money owed, drugs," she said.
"So taking out the catalyst for these disputes is often a way of resolving them for the community."
It is not the first time a high-ranking member of the Finks OMCG has faced charges this year.
In February a North Wollongong court heard 34-year-old Tony Fornaciari was accused of using his senior position in the club's south coast chapter to direct fellow gang members and associates in criminal activity, notably drug deals.
Inside the drug lab on the disused bus. Photo: NSW Police.
It was alleged Fornaciari was found in possession of 189 grams of the drug ice when police raided the North Wollongong warehouse, which they believe was destined to become the gang's clubhouse.
At the time Fornaciari was refused bail after an agressive outburst in court prompted a magistrate to decide he was too aggressive to make an application.
He will appear at Wollongong local court on March 21.
Seizures from the raids by Strike Force Creswell.
In November last year another Finks member, 22-year-old Jesse Johnston, was met by Australian Border Force officials at Sydney Airport, where he was told his entry was being denied and he was deported to his native New Zealand.
Johnston, who denied his membership to the gang, was attempting to travel to the Central Coast, where it is understood he held a senior position in the gang's Newcastle chapter.
< www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/senior-bi...20180315-p4z4gi.html >

Roderick.

The family of six who made a school bus their home. Melbourne 'Age' 29.3.18.
The family said the 18 year old bus was a "rust bucket" when they purchased it. Photo: The Mayes Team .
In early 2017, Gabriel and Debbie Mayes decided their family needed a sea change.
But, rather than switching careers or moving to a new city, the US couple decided to give their lives a complete reset by moving their family of six out of their 464 sqm Illinois home and into a 23 sqm converted school bus.
“We had gotten to a place where we were miserable, frustrated, disconnected and we knew that we needed change in every area of our life,” Debbie Mayes said on the family blog, The Mayes Team.
Gabriel, Debbie, Gracen, Darby, Deacon and Jovey Mayes with their home on wheels. Photo: The Mayes Team
When the Mayes saw a video on Facebook of a couple who lived in a converted bus and travelled the country, they decided that this was exactly the change their family had been looking for.
A few months later the family bought a 2000 Thomas High Top school bus and spent two months converting it from a “rust bucket” to a light-filled, modern family home.
The bus is able to sleep eight people and is equipped with an open plan kitchen and living area, a full bath, a private master bedroom, two skylights, a roof deck and as much storage space as possible.
On rainy days the family eat at small tray tables in the living area, which are stored folded up behind the drivers area when not in use. Photo: The Mayes Team
Despite living in a bus, the Mayes aren’t always on the go. The family is currently “parked” in Northern California while the children go to school, but they plan on hitting the road in their house on wheels during the holidays.
Debbie Mayes said the best thing about their new lifestyle is the connection they have found as a family.
•Related: We live in a shipping container
•Related: What it’s really like to build your dream home
•Related: One couple’s adventure around Australia
“The kids are always playing together and reading to each other in their bunks,” she said. “Being physically close to one another means that not much falls through the cracks.”
“We don’t just live, we love it,” says Debbie Mayes. Photo: The Mayes Team.
Another benefit of bus life: cleaning.
“Cleaning 23sqm is nothing compared to a normal sized house. It takes the family 30 minutes to pick up our whole bus versus a few hours getting a home nice and clean.”
Although the Mayes love their new lifestyle, the journey hasn’t always been a walk in the park.
The bench seating in the living area can pull out to form an additional bed for visiting family members. Photo: The Mayes Team
“To be completely honest, dinner has been a big struggle around here,” she said. “We originally had a fold down table that was a total fail so for right now we have tray tables in the middle of the living area…when the weather is nice we eat outside at our picnic table.”
Laundry is also another source of frustration for the family. With no room for a washing machine or dryer on the bus, the family relies on laundromats or friends inviting them over for “laundry parties”.
The family has no plans on moving back into a house anytime soon, Debbie Mayes said.
The kitchen features birch-wrapped plywood counters, peel-and-stick white subway tiles, and lots of overhead storage. Photo: The Mayes Team
“A lot of people assume that we must love getting to stay in a ‘real’ home for the holidays, but it’s actually not totally the case,” she said. “Yes, a house is a blessing to stay in but there are so many things about our bus that we
miss.”
< www.domain.com.au/living/the-family-of-s...home-20180328-h0y0yg >

split three-three, as any one post is restricted to five photos.
Roderick

Roderick.

31.5.18 ‘We sold our house and bought a bus instead’: The couple living in an old school bus
This couple bought and renovated a three-bedroom house but then realised they had a different dream. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
‘We sold our house and bought a bus instead’: The couple living in an old school bus
In 2009, Laura Banks and Matt Tucker achieved what so many young Australians are striving for: they bought and renovated a three-bedroom house. Yet in 2015 the husband and wife – who are now in their mid-30s – realised they had a
different dream.
“It didn’t really suit our lifestyle,” says Banks. “So we put the house on the market and we rented a house for 2016 and we were just trying to figure out what our next step would be. We looked at a few blocks of land but nothing really
felt right.”
Then Tucker came up with the idea of converting a bus into a home on wheels.
The couple bought an old school bus for $7000 in October 2016. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
“I was at that point where I was like, ‘I don’t care what we do – let’s just try something – something that gets us closer to the lifestyle we want to be leading, which is one where we’ve got freedom and flexibility,'” says Banks.
Banks was working for the health department at the time but growing her own communications business on the side, while Tucker is a firefighter.
The couple bought an old school bus for $7000 in October 2016 and Tucker, a former carpenter, got to work on the interior so that it would be liveable by the time their lease was up in December.
Banks and Tucker live comfortably on the bus with their cat and two dogs. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
The project took 15 months altogether, during which time it was parked on a friend’s large property on the outskirts of Hobart. Banks and Tucker spent months living in a caravan next to the bus.
“Those first few months were really hard,” says Banks. “We didn’t have a bathroom or anything like that. I definitely struggled. Trying to look presentable for work when you’re effectively living in a camping situation was very much
outside my comfort zone.”
•Related: We live in a shipping container
•Related: What it’s really like to build your dream home
•Related: One couple’s adventure around Australia
Fast forward to now, and the converted bus is a sight to behold. It features a queen size bed, vanity, dining table, couch, washing machine, wardrobe, full size pantry, fridge and freezer, oven and stove top, composting toilet, and a
gold and teal mosaic shower. The next phase of building will see a pop-top installed on the roof so that the current bedroom can be turned into Banks’s home office.
The couple have come to learn that a collection of kitchen appliances were not essential. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
Banks and Tucker live comfortably on the bus with their cat and two dogs, and can accommodate up to eight people for a dinner party.
It is currently parked at Banks’s parents’ home while they prepare to become more nomadic. They say they can’t imagine going back to living in a house anytime soon.
“I love living in a small space,” says Banks. “It doesn’t take long to mess up, but then it doesn’t take long to clean up either, so I love that. Life is really easy… Now when I go to other people’s houses they feel huge to me!
“It doesn’t take long to mess up, but then it doesn’t take long to clean up either.” Photo: Sarah Rhodes
“There are things that we thought were essential that just aren’t. Kitchen appliances were a big one. Even just things like the number of sheets and towels that you need, or that you think you need… Everything that’s on the bus now, I know it’s here because it makes me feel good or it serves a purpose in helping us live the life that we want to live.”
The only downsides, according to Banks, are not being able to fully stretch out in bed in the morning, not owning a bath and having to be extra mindful of power use (although this is really a blessing).
Of course, one of the main driving factors behind the couple’s decision to live in a bus is so that they can take off on road trips whenever they please.
The next phase of building will see a pop-top installed on the roof so that the current bedroom can be turned into Banks’s home office. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
As a firefighter, Tucker works four days on and four days off, making it easy to regularly venture around Tasmania. This winter they’ll be heading north for two months to escape the cold, and then in 12 months’ time they plan to embark on an extended trip around the mainland.
While Banks and Tucker can’t see themselves living anywhere but on the bus for the next few years, they do think they’ll end up buying a house again eventually. In the meantime, they’re saving huge amounts of money and enjoying the
simple life.
“It gives us freedom and flexibility in where we go, and when we go, and it’s given us financial flexibility as well,” she says. “When we had a mortgage or were paying rent then a big consideration every time we went away was that we
were spending all this money on a house that was sitting there empty. And now we have a home that we can take with us. It gives us more time to do the things we really love doing, which is being out exploring and seeing new parts of our state and country.”
< www.domain.com.au/living/we-sold-our-hou...-bus-20180531-h10o2r >

also from < www.domain.com.au/living/we-sold-our-hou...-bus-20180531-h10o2r >

Roderick.

181007Su Melbourne Herald Sun - VW Kombi campervan.

Roderick.